Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-1042 Page: 2 of 3
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The Honorable Renee Ann Mueller - Page 2 (GA-1042)
district that the statutory county court judge does not serve. See Request Letter at 1; TEX. Gov'T
CODE ANN. 25.0005(a) (West Supp. 2013).
When construing a statute, our primary goal is to determine and give effect to the
Legislature's intent as expressed by "the plain meaning of the words chosen." Tex. Mut. Ins. Co.
v. Ruttiger, 381 S.W.3d 430, 452 (Tex. 2012). Words are construed according to their common
usage. TEX. Gov'T CODE ANN. 311.011(a) (West 2013). First, nothing in the language of
section 25.0005 indicates that it is not fully applicable to counties served by multi-county
judicial districts. See id 25.0005 (West Supp. 2013). The phrase "total annual salary received
by a district judge in the county" thus includes salaries received by district judges that serve
multi-county districts. Id. 25.0005(a).
Second, as used in the phrase "paid by the state or a county," id. (emphasis added), the
"word 'a' is synonymous with the word 'any."' Chavira v. State, 319 S.W.2d 115, 120 (Tex.
Crim. App. 1958). That is, the "total annual salary" of a district or statutory county court judge
under subsection 25.0005(a) includes contributions and supplements paid by any county. See
TEX. Gov'T CODE ANN. 25.0005(a) (West Supp. 2013). Subsection 25.0005(a) does not limit
the contributions and supplements that must be included in the calculation of a district judge's
"total annual salary" to one particular county. See id Nor does it limit the "total annual salary"
of a statutory county court judge to include only the contributions and supplements received by a
district judge from the county in which the statutory county court judge serves. Id Therefore, in
determining the minimum salary of a statutory county court judge under subsection 25.0005(a),
the "total annual salary received by a district judge in the county" includes contributions and
supplements paid to the district judge by any county, including any county within a multi-county
district in which the statutory county court judge does not serve. Id
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-1042, text, February 10, 2014; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1051102/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.